PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Sergei Kharelnikov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Dan Klay (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Kharelnikov
vs
Klay

188 cm
24
194 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

180 cm
20
190 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Sergei Kharelnikov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Dan Klay!
The judges for this bout are Johanna Lukiainen, Anni Minnemäki and Tarja Halkonen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kharelnikov misses with a body shot.
Kharelnikov misses with a shot to the body
and Klay counters with a right hand to the body.
Klay connects with a jab.
Kharelnikov thuds his right hand into Klay's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Klay moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Klay tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Kharelnikov was well out of range. Poor timing from Klay.
Kharelnikov dips to his left and cracks Klay with an uppercut!
Klay tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Sergei Kharelnikov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kharelnikov swinging wildly here.

Klay clinches with his opponent.
Klay has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Kharelnikov is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Kharelnikov working hard to break the clinch.
Klay keeps control of Kharelnikov as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Klay goes for a takedown attempt but Kharelnikov pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Klay uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Kharelnikov.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Klay shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Kharelnikov as he avoids it easily.
Sergei Kharelnikov has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Dan Klay.
Klay misses with a head kick.
Kharelnikov slips a jab and a cross from Klay.
Kharelnikov circles away from the clinch attempt.
Kharelnikov fails with an attempt to clinch.
Kharelnikov throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Klay's waist but Klay gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Kharelnikov off to one side.
Kharelnikov lands a jab-cross combination.
Klay looks for a takedown but Kharelnikov sprawls well.
Kharelnikov tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Klay swivels and escapes.
Klay on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Kharelnikov. Kharelnikov obviously looking to wear him down.

Kharelnikov shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Klay's guard.
Kharelnikov is breathing heavily.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Kharelnikov working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Kharelnikov gets to his feet - Klay follows without any prompting.
Kharelnikov throws a right and a left that both miss.
Klay staying out of range there.
Klay throws a front kick that sends Kharelnikov stumbling back into the cage.
Klay tries to clinch there but Kharelnikov circles away.
Kharelnikov shoots for a takedown but Klay saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Kharelnikov gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Klay.
Kharelnikov shoots in for a double leg but Klay sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

Klay moves into the clinch successfully.
Kharelnikov is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Klay is looking for a takedown.
Kharelnikov fails to pull guard.

Klay manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kharelnikov working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Klay's head.
Klay is trying to keep Kharelnikov in close.
Kharelnikov in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Kharelnikov loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

Klay escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Kharelnikov gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Kharelnikov won't allow Klay to sweep him here.
Kharelnikov has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Kharelnikov is looking to work some ground and pound but Klay has wrist control.
Kharelnikov wants to control from the top but Klay keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kharelnikov postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Kharelnikov throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Klay works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Klay keeping moving, preventing Kharelnikov from controlling successfully.
Klay manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Klay avoids the attempt from Kharelnikov to control.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Klay prevents Kharelnikov from getting the reversal.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sergei Kharelnikov dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Klay keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Kharelnikov with a lazy takedown attempt
and Klay counters with a series of strikes. Kharelnikov will be more careful next time no doubt.
Kharelnikov slaps away a takedown attempt from Klay, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Kharelnikov fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Klay fails in his attempt to clinch.
Kharelnikov fails with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sergei Kharelnikov. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Klay has managed to clinch.

Klay successfully pulls guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Kharelnikov postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Klay throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
Klay wants to stand and escape but Kharelnikov is having none of it.

Klay kicks Kharelnikov off and gets to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kharelnikov with a jab.
Klay shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Kharelnikov but Kharelnikov pushes him off and we're back to square one.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Klay.
Klay slaps away a takedown attempt from Kharelnikov, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Kharelnikov throws a series of punches but Klay avoids them all with ease.
Klay shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Kharelnikov pinned against the cage. Kharelnikov gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Kharelnikov looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Klay is fending him off so far but Kharelnikov persists. Nope, Klay circles away and we're back to standing.
Klay tries to clinch but Kharelnikov is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Kharelnikov.
Kharelnikov thows a leg kick but Klay checks it

and Klay counters by moving into the clinch.
Kharelnikov prevents a body shot from Klay.
Kharelnikov is trying to push Klay away but Klay has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.

Klay ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Klay no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Klay avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Klay wants to get back to his feet but Kharelnikov is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kharelnikov missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kharelnikov trying to control the position from guard on top but Klay is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Klay is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kharelnikov throwing strikes from guard but Klay blocks nicely.
Kharelnikov trying to control but Klay is working from the bottom.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

Klay scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Kharelnikov fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Klay avoids a punch combination nicely.
Kharelnikov looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Klay is fending him off so far but Kharelnikov persists. Nope, Klay circles away and we're back to standing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Klay tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Kharelnikov swivels and escapes.
Kharelnikov misses with a takedown attempt - Klay sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Klay tries to clinch up.
Klay shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Kharelnikov goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Kharelnikov shoots in for a takedown but Klay shows good takedown defense.
Klay fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Kharelnikov is looking to clinch but Klay is avoiding it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Kharelnikov shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Kharelnikov was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Kharelnikov punching from mount but Klay doing a good job of avoiding damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Sergei Kharelnikov will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Klay tries for a takedown but Kharelnikov sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.

Kharelnikov gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Klay can't get the takedown.

Kharelnikov manages to pull guard.

Kharelnikov looking for a guillotine here but Klay defends easily.
Kharelnikov manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kharelnikov raining down shots from the mount!

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kharelnikov working for a guillotine from mount but Klay is in no mood to give up.
Klay is desperately trying to improve his position but Kharelnikov has a good base and remains in mount.
Kharelnikov lands a nice shot to the head.
Kharelnikov landing punches.
Klay taking shots to the head.
Kharelnikov raining down shots from the mount!
Kharelnikov with the ground and pound from mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Kharelnikov is landing with some decent strikes but Klay is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Sergei Kharelnikov overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Kharelnikov tries to control but Klay wriggling away.

Kharelnikov is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Klay can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Klay is trying desperately to improve position.
Kharelnikov in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Klay wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
Klay is bucking up trying to escape but Kharelnikov cracks him with another couple of good strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Kharelnikov is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Klay can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Kharelnikov lands a heavy elbow.
Kharelnikov with shots to the head and body - Klay looks very uncomfortable down there.
Kharelnikov pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Kharelnikov lands a nice shot to the head.

Klay is rocked!
Klay tries to hold on but Kharelnikov postures up.
Klay in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kharelnikov trying to control but he's not successful this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kharelnikov tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Kharelnikov with shots to the head and body - Klay looks very uncomfortable down there.
Kharelnikov lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Klay hang on?

Kharelnikov looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Sergei Kharelnikov is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Klay wants to hold on but Kharelnikov pushes him away.
Kharelnikov controlling the position easily from mount.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Klay is desperately trying to get back to half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Sergei Kharelnikov showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Kharelnikov, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 29:28
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sergei Kharelnikov!
Post fight, an emotional Sergei Kharelnikov said 'Thanks to my manager Turbo for taking me in and giving me a chance too show my skills. This one was 4 the fans ...'.